North Huntingdon man accused of producing child porn

NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. (KDKA) - A North Huntingdon man is in jail, accused of producing child porn and uploading it to the internet.

State police say the suspect would befriend children and then take videos and photos of them.

When KDKA showed up at 39-year-old James Gockel's old neighborhood Thursday, one man said he made an effort to keep his grandkids away from Gockel at all times.

"Mostly all the younger children," said Charles Hartman. "The adults just thought he was too weird to hang around with."

Hartman was Gockel's neighbor when he lived in Jeannette.

"My grandchildren were living here at the time he was living here, and I wouldn't let them go too close to him," he said. "He wanted to take pictures of their feet."

State police arrested Gockel after Google alerted the Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a significant number of questionable pictures recently uploaded. The IP address attached to the images led investigators to the North Huntingdon home where Gockel lived with his mother.

"A lot of files of young people's feet," said Trooper Stephen Limani.

But one image was something more.

"One of those files in nature was definitely child pornography," said Limani.

The video allegedly depicts Gockel molesting a 10-year-old girl. The video was allegedly taken when Gockel lived near Hartman.

Gockel is now in the Westmoreland County Jail, denied bond.

"I hope he stays there," Hartman said.

Gockel is charged with several felony counts, including possession of child pornography and indecent assault on a person under the age of 13.